New “prom royalty” at Foothill High School selected

Amber Sandhu/Record Searchlight Jake Drawhorn and Lindsay Luff pose on Tuesday at Foothill High School. Their fellow classmates elected the two special-education students prom king and queen. The vote came after two girls sought to be on the ballot together and the ACLU told the school to change how prom royalty was selected.

For Palo Cedro's Foothill High School, this weekend's prom was an unforgettable one.

This year's new title of 'prom royalty' went to Jake Drawhorn and Lindsay Luff, who are in special-education at the high school. The two 18-year-olds received the most votes of the six nominated campus couples, according Principal Jim Bartow.

'It was really a neat evening, and overwhelmingly they were chosen by our students,' Bartow said. 'Every student in the building was cheering.'

The high school made national news after student Hayley Lack, 16, and her girlfriend were barred from being nominated as the school's first prom queen and queen. After the involvement of the American Civil Liberties Union, the high school changed its prom court title from king and queen to 'prom royalty' and allowed couples to run.

Janene Heinz, who has been a classroom aide in Drawhorn and Luff's class for the past four years, has seen the friendship between the two evolve. 'And it's been wonderful,' she said.

The night of the prom, Luff wore a coral colored empire waist gown, and specifically wanted to wear 'shoes that made noise,' her mother Inger Luff said. So they found a pair of matching flip-flops from Old Navy to go with the dress. Drawhorn wore a black tux, pink tie with a matching pink rose on his pocket.

They headed out in a limo and had dinner at Cattlemen's restaurant, where a good Samaritan sitting nearby picked up the tab for the whole table, Heinz said.

Peggy Colwell, special-education teacher at Foothill, said she works on 'reverse integration' in her classroom, which brings students from other classrooms into hers and helps her students learn socialization skills.

'We have tried very hard to make them Foothill Cougars,' she said. 'It's the best we can do for them and their parents.'

Colwell emphasized that this was also a 'big deal' for the students who nominated and voted for Drawhorn and Luff.

'The prom was so unified, I've never seen them like that,' she said. 'We love what we do and we're enthusiastic about it and other people pick up on it.'

Drawhorn said he's already feeling popular at school. 'I know some kids might want to get some autographs from me,' he said.

Drawhorn will graduate this year, but Luff will stay with Colwell's class until she's 22. Drawhorn asked Luff if she'll miss him when he's gone. She held his left arm and rested her chin on his left shoulder. 'Always,' she said.